AI use in corporate communications: lessons from “new media”

The prospect of Artificial Intelligence use in corporate communications can feel overwhelming for some. For others, the process of a new tool being identified, used, and then integrated - to the point of it's use being "business as usual" - feels familiar. Kerry Beadling-Barron, Director of Communications and Corporate Affairs at the Health Innovation Network South London, shares her perspective on the rise of AI use in communications, informed by lessons from the era of "new media".

In communications, one of our roles is to segment our audience. We could segment comms colleagues between those who can remember what "new media" was, and those who don’t. "New media" was the term used to describe Facebook and Twitter around the time they were emerging into popularity. In other words, "new media" was an umbrella term used to describe the internet broadly and the emerging social media platforms within it at the time. This was before the term "social media" was widely adopted around 2004.

Social media was different from the traditional media of newspapers, radio, and television, which had been the mainstay of communication for decades. It was disruptive in terms of length of content and timescales of publication - it felt seismic for anyone in public sector comms. In your organisations, if you were able to get past the argument about whether it should be used at all, there would've been discussions arising around how to respond to users online and who was responsible for that. Prior to the existence of the social media roles we have today, new media sites were blocked on work devices and networks, and special permission had to be sought from IT to grant access to these sites. Any of this sound familiar? These are the same conversations currently taking place around AI.

The early adopters of social media tested roles and types of content - then led the way in sharing best practices with their more wary colleagues. In innovation, we typically see a cycle of discovery, testing, and roll out. Then, the use of the innovation becomes common place, "business as usual". This is what happened with social media. By 2014 the Guardian was reporting that four in five NHS organisations were using at least one social media channel, but in a state of low maturity commenting: “Social media is no longer a “nice to have” option for the NHS.”

We can see this evolution happening now with the use of AI in comms. Across the NHS, there is a growing feeling that communications colleagues should be the trailblazers for the adoption of AI. With the responsibility of showcasing AI to colleagues within our organisations increasingly falling on the shoulders of comms professionals, it is key to build confidence in its use. A starting point would be familiarising yourself with the work of the NHS Confederation which has published its report on insights, risks, and recommendations for safe adoption of AI. It’s a great place to start if want to know more about AI.

From colleagues across the NHS, I hear legitimate concerns about how AI could impact on our roles and skills. A lot of the AI tools I see now only work well when there is a human in the loop checking outputs and making sure there hasn’t been hallucinations. For example, a 2023 article shows that 47% of the references used in ChatGPT-generated medical content were fabricated. In comms work, it is comms professionals who need to be that human intercepting made up information.

So, to those who are worried, I point them towards the fact that we have been here before. We've identified risk and concerns, developed policies, and now have an additional channel - social media - which on the whole has increased our ability to communicate directly with stakeholders. AI is a new bit of technology that we should embrace to enhance what we do, allowing us to focus on the skills it cannot do, such as building relationships.